I am back! Took a while off to get well, to work through my attack Vertigo. So I thought I would throw some red meat to the crowd! Go for it! Because of the spam I will turn the comments off in 48 hours.
Tom Ricks linked a great article on the Army War College that appeared in the Small War Journal.
This is an important article as it lays out a good and convincing reason that the Army War College should be closed. I have been informed by friends that combat arms officers are being sent to the National Defense University and that only Combat Support and Service Support are going to the Army War College. This is an admission by the Army that future Strategic Leaders are not produced by the Army War College. In fact the Army War College is considered to be the weak sister of the service and joint War Colleges.
My experience with graduates of the Army War Colleges has not been good. Most are a mile wide and inch deep. The Army attempts to make them Strategic thinkers in one year. This is not possible when they have been raised on a diet of what to think and not how to think. In fact most do not come out of the Army War College with a basic understanding of the role and responsibilities that the Army has as a service. The ignorance of what the responsibilities and authorities as specified in 10 USC section 3013 (b) is appalling. I do not make these statements lightly, as for the last several years I have provided an introductory block in our Staff Training on Title 10 and role the Army Service Component Commands play in exercising those responsibilities. In the session in which the new O6 assigned to Third Army have attended I have been shocked at the gross ignorance of just the basic responsibilities of the Army as a service. Given that most graduates from the Army War College will serve in a variety of staff assignments on the Army Staff or other staffs I find this to be just plain wrong.
